The 2010 Honda Fit(s Like a Glove)

Vancouver is a terrible place to put a city. Sandwiched between the Coastal Mountain Ranges and Pacific Ocean, it may have proven an oceanfront paradise in decades past, but has become a city under compression in recent years. Inviting Canadians from the frozen east and new immigrants from points west, the city’s population has swollen to untold heights, now housing 27% of metro Vancouver’s total population on just 4% of its land mass. This is a bad thing if you want to park anywhere.

Of course, if you find yourself comfortably behind the wheel of Honda’s recently revised subcompact five door Fit, you probably don’t know what I’m talking about. With a footprint approximately that of a large dog, finding a place to leave your Fit in even the busiest of Vancouver neighbourhoods is surprisingly easy. And should no space be available, rest assured that even the most jaded Vancouverite will express none of the usual distaste for your cutesy ride as you repeatedly circle the block. Borrowing numerous styling cues from the previous model, the new Fit boasts a slipperier shape that brings the previously foreign-market-only vehicle further in line with Honda’s new image. Out front, a significantly revised fascia houses a more heavily styled grille and front air dam; all sculpted to provide maximum visual effect with minimal aerodynamic drag. The headlights, although a familiar shape (and still possessing the previous model’s unique blister), dominate the front fascia, and seem to occupy the majority of the short prow and are only slightly smaller than the fenders their share space with. Moving rearward, a pair of familiar three-quarter windows open up the greenhouse nicely, and give way to tall, large windows for both front and rear seat passengers. Out back, the new Fit is finished nicely with a well sculpted hatch and nice details like a chrome exhaust tip and nifty wing.

Inside is, as one would expect, familiarly Honda-esque. With a bunch of buttons scattered about in a stylish manner, it’s not the most intuitive small car on the planet, but it does pay dividends in the looks department. Furthermore, although there are arguably too many plastic finishes and surfaces throughout, the fit and finish is quite good; easily that of Ford’s class-leading Fiesta. Soft touch surfaces are limited, however, and some passengers objected to the, ahem, unique cloth patterning on the doors’ interior panels. All comers did enjoy the ridiculous number of storage spaces though, with the dual gloveboxes and passenger-side dashboard tray all earning many compliments. A quick trip to the local hardware store for some non-skid would help immensely, however, since none of the various pockets come so equipped, leaving your personal effects to slide hither and thither with each jerk of the wheel.

And jerk the wheel you will, especially if you find yourself behind the controls of a manual transmission-equipped Honda Fit Sport. Although equipped with a relatively low powered 1,497 cc inline four, the 117 horsepower motor proves adequately peppy, revving quite freely all the way to 6,800 rpm. Like most Hondas, it’s a powerplant that loves the upper regions of the tachometer, and works perfectly with the five speed transmission. But even more importantly, it’s the perfect motivational force to pair with the Fit’s feisty suspension setup. Taking just under two and a half rotations of the wheel to go from lock to lock, the Fit’s steering is both quick and precise; conducting full u-eys in just 34.4 feet. Trading the stock 15” wheels for 16” wheels and slightly wider rubber, the Fit Sport does handle slightly better, but doesn’t do anything to alter the standard Fit’s soft and squishy suspension, and is all the better for it. Thanks to the Fit’s short wheelbase and softly sprung suspension, every corner can turn into a lesson on weight transfer; a dab of left foot braking on corner entry is usually all that’s required to send the light rear end around, while the quick steering keeps the whole process from feeling rushed. The best part? Since it only wears 185-series tires, all this can be practiced at wholly legal speeds. To hot hatches as a Mazda Miata is to sports cars, the Fit’s low performance threshold allows even the most ham-fisted of drivers to explore its upper limits in an attainable and safe manner.

And much like the Miata, the Fit does all this without imposing upon its owner. There are no uncomfortably sporty seats, no harsh ride, and no untoward noises... unless you count overly annoying passengers. Still possessing some of the most versatile seating in the market, the Fit’s cabin can be converted from people carrier to stuff hauler in a manner of minutes, and does both tasks enviably well. People will enjoy the downright shocking amount of legroom to be found, as even my six foot frame left more than a few inches to spare between my kneecaps and the front seat’s back. In fact, taking a quick jaunt down the highway in the rear seat proved as comfortable as the front, thanks mostly to an excess of leg and headroom, a comfortably reclined (and adjustable) rear seatback, and large windows that keep the rear compartment from feeling airy and open. Should the need arise, the 60/40 split rear seat can be folded up quite easily to make room for cargo, as can the front passenger seat. A low load-over height, shallow bumper, and wide-opening liftgate all make loading easy, while the flat load floor, deep cargo well, and tall ceiling keeps all the but the largest of objects well contained.

Overall, it’s incredibly hard to find fault with the new Fit. While the old one may have been practical and efficient, it did so at the expense of some comfort, and would never be confused with anything other than a basic runabout thanks to questionable build quality. This new one feels like a scaled down version of Honda’s wildly successful Civic or Accord, with a huge helping of amiable driving ability tossed in for good measure. Consuming just over seven litres of fuel for every hell-bent-for-leather kilometre I put it through, it’s the veritable picture of efficiency, and after a very active week with it, I have the undeniable sense that I’d only just scratched the surface of the Fit’s capability. Truth be told, while I may have been squarely located in the hotly-anticipated Ford Fiesta’s camp prior to this test, I can’t help but come away wondering if the best small car on the market isn’t already here.